don't be surprised if I love you
by beverytender
Summary: Edwin's process of 'wooing' couldn't be more different than his brother's.
1. Chapter 1

June 3rd, 2014

Lizzie knows, instinctively, that it was Edwin, when she opens the door - going to get the mail in her robe, bare legs on display (she tightens it, in case he's watching - he still tends to do that) - and finds a bouquet of gardenias, in a cute, short vase, water and all, on her doormat. She remembers pinning a gardenia to his tux just two days ago, the Venturi men are still helpless, remembers crying a little - knows this is the type of thing he'd do to lift her mood. (She isn't sad, exactly - just a little lonely. It'll pass, but it was easy to confide in him, yesterday on the drive back. He'd held her hand a minute, before letting her out of the car at her apartment building - had been about to say something and stopped - but she doesn't think about that anymore.) She smiles, lifts up the vase and inhales the scent of the flowers before she turns and goes back inside, mail forgotten for now.

June 4th, 2014

She didn't think much about yesterday's flowers, assumed they were just a cheerup gesture, until she nearly stomps on a bunch of - Snowdrops, she thinks? She's running late this morning - she's not sure if she'd be more upset about the smushed flowers and broken glass or having to change into a different pair of pants and shoes. Her boss won't accept flowers as an excuse for lateness, so she scoops them up and carries them to her car - they can (try to) brighten up her desk. She's too busy to think about them the rest of the day.

June 5th, 2014

Wednesday it's a bouquet of daisies. She gives herself five minutes of quiet confusion - why would Edwin go this far just to cheer her up a little? But she's too busy, still, to give it more than a thought at a stoplight.

June 6th, 2014

Thursday she gets off work early, and she doesn't work Friday, so she takes her now-mixed bouquet of snowdrops, daisies, and ivy - yes, ivy was left on her doorstep this morning - separates them back into their individual vases, this must be expensive, arranges them on her kitchen counter and sits, on a stool, and looks at them. Gardenias - they started this whole thing, it can't be coincidence that she gets them just after her sister's wedding used them. Lizzie pulls her phone out of her bag, dials Casey's number (they're postponing the honeymoon until they can agree on where to go), barely lets the greetings finish before she's asking how they choose flowers.

Casey sounds surprised, but she's still willingly to talk about anything having to do with her wedding at length, and she'll never be unwilling to complain about the Venturis, so she launches right into a spiel.

A wasted spiel, unfortunately, as the only bit Lizzie hears is the first half sentence: "Actually, Edwin suggested them, which I thought was -"

Lizzie's not entirely sure, 20 minutes later, how her conversation with her sister ended, but she wishes she'd let it go on. The itch to call Edwin and demand answers is strong.

But she resists, turns her phone off and busies herself until nightfall - she falls asleep smiling, flowers left arranged just so.

June 7th, 2014

Lizzie wakes up around 1 am, gets curious again on her trip to get a glass of water. She drags a chair to the front door, sits down, determined, with a book. It's simple - she'll stay awake until he comes by, and he'll spill the beans - he has a weak stomach when it comes to keeping secrets from her. It takes a little over an hour for her to fall back asleep, book hanging from her hand, page marked loosely with a dog ear.

When she wakes again, around 10am, she's holding a bunch of handpicked dandelions, covered with a light blanket, and her book's on the floor next to her chair, bookmark on her page and all. She can picture his amused smirk at the sight of her, and pouts a bit as she puts the dandelions (dandelions, really?) in water as well.


	2. Chapter 2

So since fanfic net is doing this removal of stories that describe a 'physical reaction of a violent or sexual nature' (read: all my stories) I'm not going to be posting here any more. All of my stuff is also on AO3, username beverytender, and it might be on dreamwidth soon. Anyways. The best thing about ffnet is the alert system, so if anyone wants to be alerted when I post a chapter or new fic or whatever, send me a message (here or on tumblr (hard-to-translate) or AO3) and let me know which story or fandom or ship you want alerts for, and your email or tumblr or some such, and I will shoot you a message when I post something that you want to know about. 


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